01 June 2004	Tuesday	12 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 31: Pakistan on Monday urged the Congress-led coalition government in New Delhi to adhere to the Jan 6, 2004, joint statement of the leaders of the two countries about the "resolution of all issues between them , including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides" and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri who has just returned from a visit to the United States, in a statement took notice of recent statements by some important Indian government leaders relating to Pakistan-India relations and the agreed calendar of talks between the two foreign secretaries in June as a follow-up of the January agreement between former Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the Saarc summit in Islamabad.

Mr Kasuri noted that the reported statements seemed to suggest that "the borders cannot be altered; no plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir; relations between Pakistan and India will be guided by the Simla agreement of 1972; and the Sino-India model in bilateral relations should be followed".

Mr Kasuri in his 'friendly advice' to the Indian leaders stated: "We should observe a rhetoric restraint regime (RRR) to avoid misunderstanding and not (to) conduct diplomacy through the media."

This restraint has worked well in the recent past, he recalled and hoped that it "should work after transition of the government in India". In response to the Indian leaders' reported public statements, he said he had no choice but to respond to them publicly and added that a solution based on the LoC (line of control) was not acceptable; 'status quo is part of the problem, not part of the solution'.

He said: "The unresolved status of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute has pushed us to three wars in addition to three minor ones and might well have triggered a wider and more sinister war between the two countries in 2002, if diplomacy, realism and common sense had not prevailed."

Referring to the composite dialogue process, he pointed out that it had been put together by India and Pakistan to look at the solutions that were acceptable to Pakistan, India and Kashmiris - all parties to the dispute.

The statement of Jan 6, 2004, talks about resolution of all issues including Jammu and Kashmir to the satisfaction of both sides. "I have noted with satisfaction communications from the Indian leaders saying that they would abide by all bilateral and international agreements and understandings."

He said: "Here we have to clearly understand that the shared objectives of Pakistan and India are durable peace." But, he asked: "How can this objective ever be achieved without addressing the aspirations of the people of Kashmir?". The international community also felt that a durable peace in South Asia could be achieved only by accommodating the aspirations of the people of Kashmir, he added.

Referring to India's stand on the Simla agreement, the foreign minister said if it was invoked to move forward and find solutions, then "we do not have any problem". However, he argued, if it was being suggested for the purpose of freezing the Kashmir dispute, it would not work. "Instruments cannot be selectively invoked to shelve pressing problems," he emphatically added.

Responding to the Indian insistence to follow the Sino-Indian model (relating to Indo-Tibetan border conflict of 1962) in case of Kashmir problem between the South Asian neighbours, Mr Kasuri said that though Pakistan and China had an all-weather closest friendship as allies, nevertheless, in international politics no two situations were identical. In this instance, he maintained: "Taiwan is a case in point which China handles quite differently from how it discusses its border issues with India."

He asserted that Sino-Indian model might be good," but "it does not have a universal application" since there was no parallel between Sino-Indian engagement and Pakistan-India paradigm with Kashmir which was an international dispute.

The minister impressed on the new Indian leadership that press statements best be avoided and urged the search for peace and stability was imperative for Pakistan and India which required 'substantive negotiations'. He called upon the Indian leadership to meet the daunting challenge for both countries of over a billion poor people to eliminate poverty and promote development.